Plastic bag dispenser

Abstract

A dispenser is disclosed for retaining and dispensing plastic bags which are wound on a core. The dispenser is made of heavy metal wire configured to provide curved tracks in which a core can ride. The dispenser includes a separating tongue which enables a customer to dispense the bags one by one by pulling on the free end of the outermost bag. In order to prevent freewheeling, a braking surface is provided which engages the roll and retards rotation. A supplemental braking force is provided by spring elements mounted within the tracks which apply a frictional force to the ends of core. The spring elements are oriented such that the force applied to the core by the springs as the roll rotates when the bags are dispensed, causes the roll to tend to move downwardly into engagement with the braking surface. The spring elements are attached to the dispenser at a point below the braking surface. As a result, the braking force applied by the springs increases as the size of the roll decreases.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A plastic bag dispenser for retaining and dispensing from the front of the dispenser plastic bags wound on a core in a roll, the dispenser having a front, back and opposite sides, wherein the core has two ends and rides in spaced apart tracks, the tracks being disposed on the opposite sides of the dispenser, the improvement comprising 
       a pair of planar spring elements wherein each of the tracks has one of the spring elements mounted therein,  
       wherein the spring elements each have a front, back, top and bottom ends, with the bottom ends attached to the bottom of the dispenser and the upper ends unattached, and are adapted to contact the ends of the core for applying a braking force to the core for retarding rotation of the roll when individual bags are dispensed,  
       the spring elements being oriented at an angle with respect to each other so that the front ends of the spring elements converge toward each other from the back of the dispenser toward the front of the dispenser, and the top ends of the spring elements also converge toward each other from their bottom ends such that rotation of the core as the individual bags are dispensed causes the roll to tend to move downwardly in the tracks.  
     
     
       2. A dispenser according to claim  1 , wherein said tracks are formed from metal wire. 
     
     
       3. A dispenser according to claim  2 , further including a braking surface on which the roll rests, wherein the spring elements are attached to the dispenser at a point below said braking surface. 
     
     
       4. A dispenser according to claim  1 , further including a braking surface on which the roll rests, wherein the spring elements are attached to the dispenser at a point below said braking surface.